I never wrote a match report on Saturday!

Why ?

Because I was more interested in the physiological effect the 3 points would impact on me as coach. I always revisit games for days afterwards in my head.

The what if’s, the buts, the why’s and when’s. How can I help the children for next week. Unlike any other week this week was extra important. I needed to ask myself what impact the 3 points had over being fair.

Did the win sacrifice player participation? Luckily the answer is No. But it quite easily could have. I learnt of the added pressure for 3 points. Why ? Parent pressure, league pressure, team/club rivalry. Ex coaches showing their abundance of trophies at that level.

The only people not to accept any pressure is the children. They just want to play football and have fun, right ? If I was guilty of one thing it was taking the ownership away from the kids. I pigeon holed them into their best positions, I got lost in the environment and focused on 3 points. Do I feel great for it ? No and neither do the kids.

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They don’t care about the 3 points. Don’t get me wrong wanting to win is perfectly natural, but kids would rather play and lose than warm the bench and win Roll on next week, back to full player ownership.

Athletes learn by doing, not by watching ! Don’t deprive children the opportunity to learn. Once the 3 points take priority excluding and demoralising a child in the process by turning them into part playing bench warmers it’s time to step down as a coach and go home.

Being the kid of the coach isn’t always the best thing…. or so my child tells me, regardless of what many may think.

Sitting here listening to my child as they plead to miss training and asking to go to the beach or park instead whilst the sun is shining….

Sorry, I coach the team I can’t just cancel training last minute….

It made me sit back and think…..!!

When you coach and you have your own child on your team at times it can really pull on your heart strings.

If players decide to have a night off to do something fun with their family then they just don’t come to training. When your own child wants too do something else that night you still have to keep training on as you don’t want to let the team down.

Usually your child has to be ready earlier and at training earlier (sometimes to help set up)

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When your children play their match I sometimes envy the amount of praise and hugs you can give them as they run for a drink….. I praise my child but conscious of over praising in case it gets seen as favouritism, which ironically usually results in not enough praise given to them at all.

My focus is on the whole team…. sometimes I miss what my own child does.

Don’t get me wrong, I love coaching, I really enjoy running the team, I thrive on all the kids achieving.

But sometimes it don’t half pull on your heart when your child wants you to be there at their match just for them, to just watch them and to just support them… like all the other kids on the team.

So I would just like to give a little shoutout to all the kids who’s parents coach and run teams… thank you for sharing your time with your parents to help them to help others.

And to all parents who coach and will understand some of the issues and problems you face when your own child plays for you. I take my hat off too you, at times it can be really difficult and at times you don’t really know if your doing right from wrong but you still try your very best to benefit all. . Thank you to you.. and you’re doing a great job

Think Energy drinks and other sports drinks are giving you an edge in your exercise routine? Think again.

A new study suggests that performance-enhancing drinks and shakes have a “striking lack of evidence” to back up their claims.

Researchers from the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine in the UK examined the science behind marketing claims of 104 products and found that more than half made claims not substantiated by any evidence.

The researchers then judged that of those that do, half of the evidence is not suitable for critical appraisal.

A 380ml bottle of Lucozade Energy, for example, contains 266 calories — that is about the same as a Mars bar (260 calories) — which would take about half an hour of running to burn off.

Lead researcher Matthew Thompson told The Telegraph in the UK that drinking such products “could completely counteract exercising more, playing football more, going to the gym more” in terms of losing weight.

The findings were published online in the journal BMJ Open on July 18.

Credit to ; www.nydailynews.com

Whilst researching the claims ourselves we came across the following direct from Lucozade Sports own website.

IS LUCOZADE SPORT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

“Lucozade Sport is designed for adults who take part in exercise or sport. It contains carbohydrate (i.e. sugars) and electrolytes (i.e. sodium) at levels appropriate for an exercising adult. Children’s requirements of energy and nutrients are different from those of an adult and so Lucozade Sport is not really suitable for children under 16 years. This is not to say that Lucozade Sport would be harmful in any way, it is just not designed for use by children. Therefore water is adequate for children during exercise.” Thats right Lucozade are recommending that water is adequate for children performing exercise. Source https://www.lucozadesport.com/contact-us/

Find out more about nutrition HERE

As always we would like to hear your thoughts and opinions, please comment on our social media or blog.

Merfyn Roberts, FA coach educator for the social corner, outlines 10 top-tips to help improve player behaviour.

1)Create a club language

Kids need to understand what the expectations are at your club. Try and use language like “when you’re wearing the club badge we expect…” and “when you’re training with us on a Saturday morning this is what we do…”. All this helps to give the kids a chance to learn within a consistent framework. Continue reading “TOP 10 TIPS FOR MANAGING PLAYER BEHAVIOUR”→

Grassroots understands that the number of people that have came forward and reported abuse within football, current and historic, to police forces around England now stands at 350.

What at first appeared to be isolated cases may well turn out to be the biggest scandal to rock football in recent memory, the shear numbers coming forward have led organisations such as The FA and The NSPCC to put in place dedicated helplines for victims.

The scandal surrounding allegations of historical child sex abuse in football could spread to other sports, a senior police officer has warned.

A “significant” number of other alleged victims of abuse are likely to come forward and further sporting governing bodies may report similar problems, Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for child protection, said.

The horrifying thought that this could be happening within a sport followed by and loved by millions of children leaves a chill running down our spines.

The NSPCC which this week set up a dedicated hotline – on 0800 023 2642 – for football-related cases.